Bourg rounds the bases on a third inning, three-run home run. (Pat Mashburn)

The game was almost secondary to Northshore junior shortstop Sidney Bourg's story. And even before stepping on the field for a 15-2, five-inning win at Lakeshore, victory was already hers.

During the 2011 volleyball season, Bourg, during the third point of a match at Cabrini, she leapt in the air to make a play, came down awkwardly and torn her ACL. That match was her first athletic competition since sustaining a shoulder injury. She now remembers that heartbreaking moment like it was yesterday.

And now, after an intense year-long rehabilitation that was fueled by her will to play again, Bourg hit for the cycle against the Titans on Wednesday, demonstrating that she’s back to her pre-injury form and that she's ready to lead her teammates on a mission this season.

Bourg completed the cycle in the top of the fifth inning with a double to right center field.

“I was just trying to get the ball in play when it happened,” Bourg said about her final hit to get the cycle. “I really set my mind to it that I was going to come back much quicker. The whole process was very hard, but it made me a better person and a better player.”

Her father, assistant softball and head football coach Mike Bourg, recalled the day she injured her knee.

“I was on the field during football practice when my wife came in tears to tell me,” he said. “One day I told Sydney it was probably a blessing because it made you stronger in every aspect.”

So much so that she already has an offer to play softball at LSU.

Batting second in the lineup, she made her presence felt early in the first inning with a one-out triple. She then scored on a wild pitch to give Northshore a 1-0 lead. The biggest shot, though, came as the Panthers erupted for 11 runs in the third as she batted twice, picking up a two-run single and a three-run home run.

“Sydney has come a long way because she’s a hard worker and very dedicated,” Northshore softball coach Marian Eades said. “I’m real proud of the way she’s come back, and able to be a very big part of our program.”

Eades was also impressed with Katie Fernandez's solid performance behind the plate, as well as her three-run home run. Furthermore, pitcher Kat Cognevich threw a one-hitter with four strikeouts.

Yet despite all of the positive signs, Eades knows there’s still plenty of work to be done.

“We have to continue to hit the ball well and play good defense,” Eades said. “We are going to be challenged down the road, so we going to have to be able to make plays.”